


Peculiar Potions

by Pretzle05



Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Love Confessions, Love Potion/Spell, Making Out, OOC characters, Sharing a Bed, but that's kind of the point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pretzle05/pseuds/Pretzle05
Summary: Frey wouldn’t trade Leon for anything, and she wouldn’t change him for the world. She loved him exactly the way he was—it would just be nice to have some reassurance that he felt the same about her.AKA something that Frey and Leon find in the field dungeons will prove to be much more trouble than it appears.
Relationships: Frey/Leon (Rune Factory)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Technically I finished writing this about four months ago, but it took me FOREVER to finally type it out. There is a sad lack of Rune Factory content out there, so I am making up for that by writing some more for my favorite fox. Hope y'all enjoy! Please let me know what you think down in the comments!

One could say that, as a couple, Frey and Leon were a bit… unconventional. They certainly didn’t act all that much like a couple, at least, not according to everyone else. They had no intention of ever getting married (even if that was a fact that pained Frey from time to time when it was brought back to her attention), most of the time they spent together was monopolized with him _relentlessly_ teasing her, and one of their favorite activities to do together was fighting monsters. It wasn’t that Frey had a _problem_ with any of this, no, no, no. In fact, she rather enjoyed the strange nature of their relationship, finding it exciting and unique (and that was only partially because a deep dark part of her enjoyed his teasing). It was just that… well, sometimes she felt a little… disheartened.

She loved Leon. With all her heart. And she wasn’t shy about telling him, or showing him. She would do anything for him. She didn’t doubt that Leon cared for her, he wouldn’t have agreed to be her boyfriend if he didn’t, but sometimes she wondered if he took their relationship as seriously as she did. It could just be _so difficult_ to get a read on Leon at times, making it near impossible to tell what he was actually thinking. And the fact that he was constantly teasing her and joking around didn’t help matters. So even when he did or said something romantic or sweet, Frey still couldn’t help but doubt whether or not he was actually being serious.

Frey wouldn’t trade Leon for anything, and she wouldn’t change him for the world. She loved him exactly the way he was—it would just be nice to have some reassurance that he felt the same about her.

Strangely, that reassurance came in the form of an odd little yellow bottle lying on the ground of a field dungeon.

As previously stated, Frey and Leon enjoyed fighting monsters together, and field dungeons were a great outlet for that, not to mention that they were chock full of useful and valuable items. It was during a visit to one such dungeon that Frey and Leon found something quite odd.

After they finished off the last of the monsters in the area, raising the magic barriers obstructing them from continuing on, Frey combed the ground for monster drops or whatever other goodies that had spontaneously spawned in this section of the dungeon. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of yellow, and she turned to see a small bottle leaning up against the trunk of a tree. She picked it up and examined it, finding there to be an odd smiley face on the front. She didn’t recognize it at all, and her curiosity grew when she felt that for some reason, the glass was quite warm. “Now what’s this?”

“You found something?” Leon came up beside her to regard the bottle as well.

“Yeah, but I’ve got no idea what it is. Normally I’d just sell something like this, but I wouldn’t be comfortable selling off a mysterious drink without knowing what it was.” She handed it to him. “Do you recognize it?”

He took it and hummed thoughtfully. It shimmered a strange gold color as he held it up to the light, examining it. “Looks like a potion of some kind. Maybe magical. But I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything exactly like this before." A wicked smirk formed on his lips, and his ear twitched, putting Frey on high alert. Nothing good ever came about when he got _that_ look in his eye. “I guess there’s only one way to find out. Care for a sip?”

“Wha—me?” She balked. “Leo, we have no idea what that thing is! If it’s magic like you think it is, that could be really dangerous!”

He chuckled that smooth, amused laugh of his. “What, not up for a little adventure?” He shook his head, still chuckling lightly. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t actually going to let you drink it. Can’t have my lady going around drinking strange potions and getting hexed or put in a coma. Life would be rather dull without you around.”

Her face warmed, both from falling for his little joke and from his words. “O-oh, um—”

“But _I_ however—” He cut her off, that dangerous gleam returning to his eyes. “Would quite like to know what this is. And I have no such qualms about taking a risk.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “So, down the hatch.”

“W-wait!” She grabbed his arm before he could down the strange concoction, causing him to look down at her with a raised eyebrow. She sighed. Knowing Leon, if he was serious about using himself as a guinea pig, then there really was no hope of talking him out of it. But maybe she could at least convince him to wait until they were out of the dungeon before drinking any potentially hexed magic potions. “Can you at least wait until we finish up here?” A little smirk of her own grew on her face, her voice playful. “I really don’t want to have to drag you out of here if you end up passing out or something.”

“Alright, you have a point there. I’ll wait.” He swished the liquid around, eyeing the way it shimmered with that frightening look in his eye, almost seemingly excited. “But the second we’re out of here I’m giving this a try.”

Frey swallowed. Hopefully, it wasn’t anything _too_ terrible (though judging by that expression on his face, maybe that’s what he was hoping for. Or perhaps it was just the thrill of not knowing). She sighed again. At least she’d be supervising so she could zip him up to the clinic right away if anything went awry.

They were already fairly close to the end of the dungeon, so it only took a few more minutes of slashing and stabbing before they were once again safely outside, standing in the middle of Frey’s fields. She couldn’t deny that she was still concerned about the potential effects. She almost wanted to try talking him out of it and offering herself up to be the test subject instead, but she knew that it would be a fruitless endeavor. Once he set his mind to do something he could be surprisingly stubborn. So she could do nothing but watch helplessly as he procured the bottle out of his pocket and offered her a heart-stuttering wink. “Here goes nothing.” Without further ado, he tipped his head back and chugged the whole thing in one go.

He was quiet afterwards, concerningly so. No comment on the taste or anything. It was so out of character that she wondered whether or not he was trying to pull her leg, but even so her concern for his wellbeing won out against her skepticism. She took a step closer. “Is everything alright? Do you feel any different?”

He snapped to attention at the sound of her voice, his ears sticking straight up and his tail twitching. It would have been an almost comical sight were it not for the deep worry it brought about in Frey. But before she could voice her concerns, he spoke, with a _very_ uncharacteristic stutter. “Y-yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just…” He swallowed thickly, and Frey was startled to see that his cheeks were flushed a bright red, and she could’ve sworn she saw his eyes flash an odd gold color as he looked down at her. He let out a shaky breath. “D-don’t stand so… close to me.”

She cocked her head to the side, concern and confusion evident in the crease to her brow. The potion had obviously done _something,_ but as it were, she had absolutely no idea what it could have been. Maybe something behavior-altering? Instead of heeding his request, she took another little step closer and rested her hand on his exposed bicep. “Leo, are you sure you’re feeling okay? You look really red. Do you want to go to the clinic?”

He drew in a harsh breath, and the expression he looked down at her with gave her a start. He looked… hungry. So much so that he almost seemed pained. His eyes shone darkly, and his breathing had deepened, resonating low in his chest. Frey’s eyes widened. _‘Oh. **Oh.** So **that’s** what it does.’ _She flushed all the way down to her neck, but before she could apologize or take a step back or offer to take him to the clinic again her entire thought process came to a grinding halt when she felt the cool pads of his fingers against her flaming face, cupping her cheeks and forcing her to meet his eyes.

He let out a long, drawn out breath. “You…” he breathed, “… are _so_ beautiful.”

To say she was startled would have been an understatement, both by the contents of his words and by the deep sincerity he said them with. Sure, he had called her cute before (but she was convinced that seventy-five percent of the time he said it just to fluster her), but never _beautiful._ And she didn’t think she’d hardly _ever_ heard him say something so genuine, the most sincerity she could get out of the man was a few nuggets of his true feelings when she got him all nostalgic talking about the past. She nearly trembled under the intensity of his gaze, her heart fluttering wildly. She knew she really should get him to the clinic to sort out the effects of that weird potion, but she found herself rooted to the spot. “L-Leo, what is going o—”

But she never got to finish her sentence because he rushed forward and planted her lips on hers, stealing all the air from her lungs with a surprised squeak. His free hand came around her waist to crush her body to his, the hand at her face tenderly stroking her cheek even as his mouth pressed insistently against hers, feverish.

In her shock, it took Frey a moment to respond, but when her body finally caught up to her brain she wound her arms around his broad shoulders, burying a hand in his long, silky, beautiful hair and tugging him even closer, tilting her head to the side so as to deepen the kiss. He groaned deep in his throat as her nails scraped against his scalp, the sound making her weak in the knees. She felt like she was melting, filled with nothing but warm, molten, liquid gold as she fell deeper and deeper into him, completely forgetting about anything else that wasn’t his hands on her skin or his lips on hers.

He pulled away for just a second to breathe, both of them panting harshly. He pressed his forehead against hers, his face red and his eyes lidded as he looked deep into her eyes with a strange, earnest, adoring expression that looked completely out of place on him. Had her brain not been quite so foggy from the kiss, she would have been shocked and confused. However, all the fog immediately cleared and was replaced with a stunned, breath-hitching feeling as he arduously whispered, “I love you,” before diving back in and capturing her lips with his again.

Her heart hammered in her chest, blood roaring so loud in her ears she was hardly aware of anything else. He said he loved her. He said _he loved her._ Never in all the time that they had been together had he said those words to her, not even in response to her saying them. It was always “I’m quite fond of you as well” or “I find you quite entertaining” with him, never _“I love you.”_ She could have cried she was so happy; she felt like she was floating. In light of his confession, she kissed him with a new fervor, desperately clutching at his shoulders and hair and any bit of exposed skin she could find.

He responded _very_ well to this, sighing into her mouth and leaning into her, his strong arms squeezed tight around her making her feel small and protected. She let out a gasp as he feistily nipped at her bottom lip, followed by a long, drawn-out moan as his tongue entered her mouth, tangling sloppily with hers.

She must have tugged on his hair a little too hard, or he was leaning forward a little too far, because the next thing Frey knew they were toppling to the ground before she landed on her back with a heard thud. She groaned in pain, her eyes squeezed shut. When they fluttered open, she was startled to find that Leon was practically lying on top of her, his hands braced on either side of her head and his face barely centimeters from hers. However, he didn’t seem surprised or confused by the change in position at all, the intensity of his gaze not wavering in the slightest. His eyes once again flashed with that odd golden color she had seen when he first drank the potion, and it was then that she finally got ahold of her rational thought again. As much as she was enjoying this situation, they _really_ needed to get to the clinic and make sure that he was okay.

He made a move to kiss her again, but she stopped him by pressing a hand to his chest and pushing him off of her as she sat up. A flash of hurt crossed his face as she did (another look that was _way_ too vulnerable to look even remotely normal on him). Before he could protest, however, she said, “Come on, we really should get you to Jones. You’re obviously not quite…” She cleared her throat to compose herself a bit, her voice hoarse and her face warm. “…yourself.”

He cocked his head to the side in a very cute, out of character, manner (if his previous words and actions weren’t enough to convince her that the potion had put him all out of wack, then that certainly was). His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about? I feel fine, I don’t need to go to the clinic.” He brushed his fingers against her cheek again, a fond, dreamy sort of smile on his face. “Let’s just stay here all day.”

As tempting as that offer was, she knew that he _really_ needed to see the doctor. As nice as it was to see him so affectionate for once, his strange behavior was starting to weird her out. Besides, while the effects of the potion didn’t _seem_ dangerous, that was no reason to rule out the possibility that it might be or that there might be dangerous side effects later on. So she stood her ground, crossing her arms and shaking her head firmly. “No Leo, we can’t do that. We don’t know exactly what that potion was or how long its effects will last—you need to have Jones check you out.”

Then Leon did something Frey never thought she would ever see the cool, collected man do: he _whined,_ pulling her into a hug and burying his face in her hair. “Nooooo, I don’t waaaaaanna see Jones, I want to stay here with you.”

Gods, he was acting like a _child!_ What exactly _was_ that potion?! But, nevertheless, it gave her an idea. She extracted his arms off of her, him whining again at the loss of contact. She smiled sweetly at him and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek, causing him to brighten a little. “I’m sorry baby, but I have things I need to do. I have a lot of work, you know.” He deflated, and she had to resist the urge to laugh at the sight of him pouting, his fluffy ears drooping down in sadness. She bit her lip to keep from grinning too wide as she tapped her chin in an imitation of deep thought. “Although… if you were to come with me to the clinic, then I _suppose_ we could spend some more time together”

“Deal.” He responded immediately, jumping up and offering her his hand to help her off the ground, his crystal blue eyes bright once again. “Let’s go.”

She couldn’t hold back her giggle this time. It was strange, for sure, but there was also something very sweet and endearing about seeing him so excited to spend time with her. He insisted on holding her hand the entire way to the clinic, an action that drew a lot of attention from the other townsfolk (both in the form of curious stares and teasing comments), bringing a hot pink blush to her face. Leon didn’t seem to care, though, perfectly content to sidle up next to her as they walked, his ears and tail flicking happily. Honestly, he was acting more like a puppy than a fox ~~(not that she really minded, it was just weird).~~

Nancy greeted them when they entered the clinic. “Why hello there Frey, Leon.” She nodded to the both of them, offering a smile. “Are you here to pick up some medicine?”

Frey sighed. “Unfortunately, no. We need to see Jones.” She rolled her eyes. “Actually, it’s the fault of some suspicious medicine that we’re here.”

Nancy’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Suspicious medicine? What happened?”

Frey sighed again, heavier this time as she eyed Leon, who was still standing beside her with her hand in his, smiling happily down at her without a single care in the world. “We found this weird potion in one of my field dungeons, and he thought it’d be a good idea to drink it and figure out what it does. Well, we still don’t really know what it did, and now ever since he’s been…” Just then Leon decided to wrap his arms around Frey’s waist and nuzzle into her hair, perfectly proving her point. “Like this.”

Nancy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh my, well that is certainly out of character.” Her eyes twinkled with mirth, as though she was fighting back a little giggle. “But are you sure you want to undo it? You certainly don’t seem like you have any complaints.”

She blushed (only partially because she was right). “W-well, no I don’t…” She sighed once again, but she managed a small smile at the feeling of Leon giving her a comforting squeeze. “But as much as I’m enjoying all the affection, I really should get him checked out. There could be some dangerous side-effects to drinking that potion, and I’d never forgive myself in he got hurt all because I wanted to indulge myself a little.”

Nancy gave her a sympathetic, almost proud, smile. “I see. That’s very mature of you. If I were in your position, I don’t know if I’d be able to help myself!” She giggled. “I’ll go get Jones; you just wait right here.” Then she disappeared upstairs, leaving Frey and Leon alone once again.

She yelped in surprised as she felt him place a kiss on her neck. _“Leon…”_ she warned dangerously. They were in _public!_ Even more than that, they were technically inside Nancy, Jones, Dolce, and Pico’s _home!_ Now, Leon had never had many qualms about embarrassing her in public (or public indecency, for that matter, with how little clothing he wore on a daily basis), but he usually drew a line at most forms of PDA, certainly _this._

He was undeterred, however, and she could feel his lips curve into a smile as he left more long, loving pecks to the exposed skin of her neck.

She shivered against her will. _‘Damn him and his stupidly seductive kisses!’_ She swallowed dryly and crossed her arms, careful to make sure her voice didn’t waver even as her legs progressively became more and more noodle-like. “Leon, behave yourself. Jones is going be down here in a second, and he’s going to figure out how to fix what is wrong with you.”

He nuzzled his face into her neck, an adorable gesture that Frey couldn’t help but melt a little at, despite her indignation at his behavior. “I told you,” his low voice grumbled in his chest pressed against her back, “Nothing’s wrong with me. I just love you.” Another kiss and a sigh. _“So much.”_

She groaned and brought her hands up to hide her furiously blushing face. “And the fact that you’re _telling_ me that says that there is something _very_ wrong with you! So please, just… keep your hands to yourself for a second?” She tilted her head up to face him and batted her eyelashes sweetly. “For me?”

A conflicted look crossed his face for a moment, then he sighed heavily and removed himself from her, taking a step back for good measure (she immediately missed his closeness, but there was no way she was going to say that). He looked at her with that same intense, genuine expression he had before. “I’d do anything for you.”

The sincerity in his voice only brought more heat to her cheeks, somehow, and she turned her face away from him so he wouldn’t see it. _‘Where the hell is Jones?’_

As though having heard her mental plea, Jones descended the stairs right then, regarding the both of them kindly. “Hello Frey, Leon. Nancy told me about what happened, so, Leon, why don’t you take a seat?”

He grumbled something almost indignant sounding about how he was fine and didn’t need to be going to the doctor in the first place, but he obliged, sitting down on one of the examination tables.

Jones started to do a few basic tests, like blood pressure and reflexes and such. As he worked, he asked Frey, “So how long ago did he drink this potion?”

“Not very long ago. Maybe fifteen minutes or so. I just wanted to get him here as soon as possible in case there were some weird or dangerous side effects that weren’t immediately visible.”

He hummed and nodded as he listened to Leon’s heart and lungs with his stethoscope, an approving expression on his face. “Yes, that was the right thing to do. You can never be too careful. Can you describe the potion to me?”

“Well, it was this shimmery gold color. Leon said he thought it might be magic.” She turned to address Leon. “What did it taste like?”

“Warm,” he responded immediately. “And… sweet. I don’t usually like that kind of stuff, but it was delicious.” As he looked at her, his eyes flashed gold again.

Jones sighed, but he nodded as understanding seemed to dawn on him. “Well, that confirms it. When Nancy told me about how he’d been acting, I had my suspicions, but I thought it was too unlikely to be true.”

“What? What is it? Is he going to be okay?” Frey fretted, concern evident in her voice.

Jones let out a little chuckle. “Yes, yes, he’ll be fine. If anything, there should actually be some health benefits: increased stamina and vitality, lower levels of fatigue. Just be prepared for him to be a bit… clingy for a few days.”

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Clingy? Why? What did he drink?”

He gave her an easy smile, putting away his stethoscope. “It looks like what you two found, was a love potion. The effects should wear off in a few days, but until then he’s going to be quite enamored with you.” He chuckled. “Not that I assume you’d have any objections to that.”

A love potion? She was relieved that he wasn’t going to get sick, but her heart still sank. So… he hadn’t meant it. Of course he hadn’t. He had never once told her he loved her before, not in all the time they had been together, what made her think that he’d say it of his own volition and mean it now? It was just the potion talking. But despite the hurt in her heart, she still managed to give Jones a smile. “No worries, it’s fine. I’ll be sure to keep him out of trouble. Thank you, Jones!” She paid him, and the second she made a move to leave Leon was all over her again, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist as they left the clinic, his tail flicking happily. She sighed. _‘That may be easier said than done.’_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite a bit shorter than the last one, but the next chapter is pretty long so if I included this little nugget in there it'd be a little too much. As always, I hope you enjoy!

Leon refused to leave her side for the entire day, trailing along behind her throughout all of her work like an excited puppy. This led to her being quite distracted, as he kept pulling her away from her tasks to steal quick (or sometimes not-so quick) kisses and give affectionate nuzzles to her neck and hair. She was used to him doing such things to fluster her on occasion, but the fact that he now had no ulterior motive somehow embarrassed her even more. She couldn’t deny that it was nice—more than nice, even—to see him wanting to be so close to her, like he loved her. But any happiness she may have gleaned from the situation was dampened by the fact that it wasn’t really _him_ doing any of those things. It was just the effects of the love potion, and he would certainly be embarrassed by his behavior once it wore off and he was back to being himself.

But in the meantime, it was up to Frey to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t do anything _too_ mortifying. It wasn’t all that difficult, considering he insisted on staying no further than five feet away from her at all times. Honestly, the most difficult things were staying focused on her work and explaining the reason for his odd behavior to the other townsfolk (some were concerned about his condition, but most found it quite amusing to see the notorious teaser in such a state).

As the day began winding down and it became time for her to go home for the night and get to bed, however, she ran into quite the predicament: he just _would not leave._ No amount of coaxing or persuading or batted eyelashes could get him to go home for the night. It was getting frustrating as they stood outside the door to her room at ten o’clock at night, her fruitlessly attempting to convince him to go to bed in his own room. “Look, Leo, I love you very much, but I have to go to bed! I have to get up early in the morning!”

He cocked his head to the side curiously. “So? You can still go to bed; I’ll just sleep here.”

She flushed brilliantly at his nonchalant suggestion. _‘I’ll just sleep here?!?!?’_ Did the potion wipe away all of his common sense?!?! They couldn’t—what would people _think!?_ She already didn’t trust him not to be handsy, even less so when he was under the influence of a love potion, and she only had one bed in her room ~~(Though maybe some of that fear was just due to her own imagination flooding with indecent thoughts and the proposition, but still)~~! She sputtered as she attempted desperately to get ahold of her thoughts again. “L-Leo! You can’t! I only have one bed in my room!” He knew that already, having been in her room multiple times, but she felt the need to point it out to him.

His expression reminded her of a puppy that had just been scolded by its owner for the first time, leaving it hurt and confused about what it had done wrong. “So I’ll just sleep in the bed with you? I don’t understand what the problem here is. We’re together, so it’s okay.” His eyes widened in realization, but he was still unperturbed. “Oh, are you worried I’ll do something? I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself and let you sleep.” His face reddened, and he looked almost bashful as he added, “U-unless you don’t want me to, that is.” The bashfulness was quickly gone, replaced with that intense, genuine, golden stare she still found quite jarring. “I’d do anything for you, I mean it.”

Gods, her resolve was slipping. As much as she would have _loved_ to drift off to sleep cradled in his strong, muscular arms, it was still indecent. And despite how much of a tease she knew him to be, even without the love potion afflicting him with complete obedience to her every single word (well, _most_ every word) she trusted that he truly wouldn’t do anything of that nature unless she explicitly said that she wanted it. It would certainly be much easier to just give in and let him have his way for just one night. But even with her reasons for resisting dwindling, she wasn’t ready to toss in the towel just yet. In one last-ditch attempt, she sighed exasperatedly and said, “Then go home! I want you to ho home and go to sleep in your own bed!”

He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay, _mostly_ anything. That’s the one thing I won’t do.” His smile softened as he took a step closer to her, cupping her cheek and looking down at her fondly. “I love you. Is it too much to ask to want to be with you?”

“W-well, no…” She averted her eyes, unable to meet his warm gaze, her complexion darkening even more. He gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, finally doing her in. _‘Oh, fuck it.’_ She sighed again, this time in concession. “Okay, fine. Just… this is a one-time thing, okay?”

He grinned giddily, and Frey didn’t think she had ever seen so much joy on his face ever before. It warmed her heart. “Thank you! I promise you won’t regret this!”

And so, they _finally_ went inside and turned in for the night. Unfortunately, since Leon didn’t have his pajamas with him, he opted to simply take off the extra pieces of his outfit and just sleep completely shirtless, sending Frey into a bit of a frenzy. Of course she had seen his chest before, with him walking around practically shirtless every damn day (how he didn’t get cold in winter was beyond her), but this was _different._ There was no vest of anything and with the small size of her bed that gorgeous, bare, caramel-colored chest was going to be pressed up right against her. It was enough to drive her wild, but she needed to remain composed. _‘Come on Frey, get ahold of yourself!’_

As soon as they crawled into bed, Leon’s arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her back into his sturdy chest. Her heartrate skyrocketed at the feeling of his defined pecs and abs through the thin material of her nightgown. Amid her panic, she heard him hum in a way that was more akin to a purr as he nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck from behind, tickling her skin and making her shiver as he inhaled deeply. “Ah, you’re so warm,” he muttered. “A guy could really get used to this.”

“Th-this is only this once, remember…! S-so don’t get _too_ used to it…!” Despite her efforts to sound firm, she couldn’t help the little stutter in her voice.

“Yes, of course.”

She then squeezed her eyes shut to try and get some shut-eye, but unfortunately that only enhanced the sensation of his skin up against her and the comfortable weight of his arms around her and the feeling of his breath tickling her neck. She was certain she was stiff as a board, unable to focus on anything other than the dryness in her mouth and just how _close_ he was. She let out a little sigh through her nose. This was going to be a long night.

Leon must have noticed how tense she was, because the feeling of his thumb rubbing soothing circles into her hip made her jolt. “Relax,” he whispered in her ear.

And despite her initial surprise, she did, if just a little. The feelings of his thumb on her hip and the steady rise and fall of his chest were actually quite comforting. Hell, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t imagined scenarios like this before—where her painfully empty bed was no longer empty, instead filled with warm skin and strong arms and that infuriatingly enticing smirk that she loved. And though none of the things he was doing really mattered because they weren’t of his own free will, she might as well try to enjoy what she had while it lasted. So she let out a breath and let her expression soften as she quietly reveled in the moment.

“Hey, love?” he whispered just as she was about to fall asleep.

She resisted the urge to let out a little groan of frustration. “Yes, Leo?”

“Do you have a lot of work to do tomorrow?”

She thought for a moment, mentally running through her schedule. “No, I don’t think so, just watering my crops and tending to the monsters. Why?”

He shifted a little, burying his face into her neck. “We should go on a date, then,” he mumbled. “We can have lunch at Porcoline’s once you finish your work and then spend the whole day together.”

Frey’s heart thumped hard in her chest. Leon very rarely instigated dates, and it was a change she found sweet. That sounded very nice, and it _would_ allow for her to keep a close eye on him all day. She smiled. “Actually, Leo, that sounds lovely.”

She could feel his lips pull into a grin against her neck. “Great! It’s a date then.”

“Yes, yes it is.” Her heart warmed at his excitement. “Now get some sleep. Goodnight.”

He yawned. “Okay… G’night, love. I love you.”

Amid her happiness, a sharp pain struck her chest. She willed her voice not to waver as she said, “I love you too, Leo.”


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning carried on very much the same as the day before had, with Leon trailing closely behind her as Frey did her chores. It went a whole lot faster than usual because she managed to convince him to help chop up some lumber and break apart rocks for material stone, which he did gladly. He was actually pretty good at it, and she made a mental note to ask him to help her out more often (though whether or not he’d agree without the influence of the love potion was debatable).

They got a few odd looks at Porcoline’s, but with the town being made aware of Leon’s current condition, no one commented on it (other than Doug, who made a point of saying how he found it funny to see the normally cool and collected man trip all over himself to please Frey). Ever since their first date, where Leon had embarrassed her to no end by offering for them to feed each other like a couple of disgustingly besotted newlyweds, it had kind of become a tradition to do so whenever they went out to eat. It never failed to make her blush tomato red, but this time, when she held her fork out to him with a lilting, “Say ahh~,” he was the one left red-faced.

“O-oh, um… a-ahh.” He opened his mouth but averted his eyes shyly, and Frey had never understood why he loved teasing her more—it was awfully cute to see him all flustered and embarrassed. Plus, she also felt a little grain of satisfaction from having turned the tables on him for once.

She couldn’t help the little grin that grew on her face as a devious plan grew in her mind. Her voice was still sugary sweet, however, as she said, “What was that, honey? I couldn’t hear you.” Perhaps it was a little mean, but she didn’t think she would ever have the opportunity to make him squirm just as much as he made her ever again, so she was going to savor every second of it.

His tanned face flushed an even darker red, making the bright blue tattoos on his cheekbones appear almost neon. His ears flattened down against his head as his tail swished nervously underneath the table, occasionally brushing her ankles and tickling her. He squeezed his eyes shut. “A-ahh…” he repeated slightly louder.

Her grin stretched so wide it was almost painful now. Oooh, she loved this. But even so, she decided to show some mercy and finally popped her fork into his mouth. “Is it good?” she asked as he chewed.

He swallowed and gave her a smile. “Yes, very.” His eyes flashed gold and a dreamy sort of look passed over his face. “Even better since I’m with you.”

Now it was her turn to flush once again. That was something that he had said to her many times before, but the complete sincerity he said it with still took her aback a bit. As always, she didn’t quite know what to say in response, so she just went back to eating (albeit with a much warmer face than before).

They spent the rest of the day completely inseparable from each other, and also the next day as well. They spent time at the lake fishing, they went shopping (she bought him a pair of drinking glasses and she was pretty sure he almost cried), they spent some time flying around on the airship, and they ate together (homemade this time, eating at Porcoline’s all the time could get pricey). He wanted to go fight some monsters in the field dungeons (Jones wasn’t lying when he said he’d have more energy), but Frey was adamantly against the idea. She didn’t trust him not to do something stupid and reckless that would get himself hurt while he was like this.

The whole situation was indisputably odd, but… Frey couldn’t deny that she enjoyed seeing him so happy, even more so because he was happy because of her. It made her feel a bit bad that she was kind of enjoying it though, since he wasn’t acting of his own free will and he’d probably be really upset and embarrassed by it once he regained his senses. But also, on top of all of that, she felt a little… sad. Hurt. Because as much as she loved all the affection, she knew it wasn’t real. He wouldn’t be acting that way if he hadn’t drunk the potion. And every time he said “I love you” felt like a cross between a knife in the heart and a slap in the face.

She knew he was never going to marry her. She agreed to that. She said it was okay, because all she wanted was to be with him, whether or not marriage was a part of that equation, and it wasn’t a lie. But it didn’t stop a small, selfish part of her from hoping. IT wasn’t necessarily that they needed to get married, it was just that… she wanted the certainty—no, she needed the certainty. The certainty that he was just as serious about their relationship as she was, that he was in it for the long haul, that… that he loved her. She didn’t doubt that he cared for her, but……… she had never been sure that he loved her. Not like she loved him. And being so close to him, yet still not knowing was starting to become torture. And hearing him say those words and not meaning them only brought her all the more agony.

By the fourth day it was becoming damn near intolerable. Jones had said it would take a few days to wear off, wouldn’t four be sufficient? But come that morning and he was still acting like a lovesick fool. He had insisted on sleeping in her room each night, and while she greatly enjoyed having him be the last thing she saw when she went to sleep and the first thing when she woke up in the morning, the suspicious looks they kept getting when they left her room together in the morning were embarrassing her (Also the whole situation felt just a little bit too much like they were married, a thought that sent a spear of hurt through her).

Once again, he wanted to spend the entire day together, and Frey wasn’t really in a position to refuse. As much as the false affection hurt her, she still needed to keep an eye on him, and she did still love being with him so much. However, the lack of teasing or playful banter left the interactions feeling a bit… empty. It was fine, it was nice (it was very nice when he got handsy and started kissing her so passionately again), but she missed how he usually was. It was strange to miss a person who was standing right beside her, but she did, nonetheless.

With so little time to plan anything for them to do together, Frey was starting to run out of ideas. So she proposed a simple lazy day (gods knew she needed it), where they’d just have a nice little picnic down at the lake and then spend the rest of the afternoon and evening lounging around in his room at the inn, reading and whatnot, just enjoying each other’s company. He gladly agreed, his tail flicking to and fro (she would never not find that adorable).

They had a nice time; Frey appreciated the break. But as the day began to wear down into evening and evening into night, a heaviness began to weigh on her once more. How much longer would the potion last, how much longer would she have to listen to him say words that she longed to hear only for them to be empty? It seemed like such a small, frivolous thing to be so torn up about, but she just couldn’t deny the deep ache in her heart as she laid on Leon’s bed, her head resting against his chest, rising and falling steadily with sleep.

She sighed quietly. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about it all. There was no way she was getting any sleep tonight. She desperately needed to get some of this off her chest, she needed him to know. But she was far too much of a coward to dare talk to him about it. But perhaps… so long as he was asleep, she could.

“You know, Leo, you’ve been really putting me through a lot of trouble.” She smiled bittersweetly as she lightly traced random shapes into the exposed skin of his chest. “I honestly can’t tell if I want to laugh or cry, hehe. Probably both.” She turned her face so that it was half-buried in his chest, as though she was hiding from him even though he was completely unconscious. She continued, voice barely a whisper as her heart ached with emotion. “I know it’s a selfish thought, since this whole situation is probably way worse for you, but I can’t tell you how much it’s been hurting me to hear you say things you don’t mean.” The hot sting of tears began to prick at her eyes, and since he couldn’t see or hear her anyway, she felt no need to hold them back. “It’s… it’s so hard being so close to you, but still so far away. Sometimes it really does feel like I don’t know you at all, like you won’t let me. And yet you seem to know everything about me, even things I don’t know about myself. All my quirks and by habits and my favorite things and every little thing you can do to make me nervous and flustered. I would say you don’t know the power you have over me, but you obviously do.” She chuckled weakly. “You’ve got me wrapped right around your finger. I’m so completely yours it’s almost sad.”

Any smile that she had dropped, replaced by the warm tears that were now flowing down her cheeks. She had to work to keep her voice even. “But I—I’ve never once felt like you were mine, not really. You belong to yourself, and to your past, and that’s fine, I understand, it’s just…” She couldn’t take it anymore as she choked on a sob, covering her mouth with her free hand so as to not wake him. “Being with you like this, and hearing you say that you love me when I know it’s not true is…” She couldn’t continue, instead giving in to the deep, horrible ache in the center of her chest that pulsed and throbbed with such gravity that it felt like there was a black hole behind her sternum, sucking everything inside of it into oblivion. She broke down into quiet sobs, praying that the sound wouldn’t wake him up.

And that was all that could be heard in that tiny room at the inn for a long time, shaky breaths and muffled whimpers. She had hoped that it would be over quickly once she started to get it out of her system, but it only seemed to be getting worse. She shook with the effort it took to keep quiet, and she regretted ever deciding to open her mouth in the first place.

Eventually, she finally calmed down, her heaving sobs devolving into nothing more than little hiccups. She felt heavy, both in her heart and body, after the whole ordeal, completely drained of energy. Oh well, maybe at least she’d be able to sleep for a little while now. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she heard something that made her blood run cold.

“……………………. Do you really think that I don’t love you?”

She gasped and shot straight up in terror, her heart pounding a mile a minute. No. No no no no no no no this was not happening he did not hear everything she just said. Gods, fuck, she had no idea how he was going to react. Well, actually, with the influence of the love potion, she had a pretty good idea: he’d probably look at her with those sad eyes and kiss her and tell her that he loved her and it would crush her even more. She refused to meet his gaze as more tears stung her eyes.

He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. But instead of the forlorn look he was expecting, there was a sternness of sorts, his electric blue irises boring into her intensely. “I said—” His voice was low and firm. “Do you really think that I don’t love you?”

She blinked up at him, eyes owlishly wide. “I-I…” She swallowed. “How long have you been awake…?”

His eyes narrowed. “I was never asleep. But that doesn’t answer my question.”

She didn’t have an answer to that question (well, she did but it wasn’t one she could just say out loud to his face), so she hung her head.

She heard him sigh heavily. His tone was far gentler when he spoke this time. “Love, how could you think that? You’re everything to me, I’d do anything for you.”

“Stop,” she whimpered, tears falling from her eyes. “Just stop.”

“What? Love, I—”

“Just stop!” she cried, harsh sobs wracking her body. She squeezed her eyes shut from the horrible, stabbing pain in her heart, as though if she didn’t have to look into those painfully genuine eyes that she knew were lying she could block out all of the hurt. “Stop saying things you don’t mean! I know you might mean it right now, but you’re only feeling that way because of the stupid love potion and I just can’t take it anymore!”

He looked stunned, completely silent as she cried. Gods, she looked like an idiot! They obviously wanted very different things from this relationship and now he was probably going to break up with her once the potion wore off. Why couldn’t she have just kept quiet about it?! Or at least checked to make sure the man was actually asleep before spilling her deepest secrets to him?!

However, instead of the awkward rejection she was expecting, he pulled her into him, wrapping his strong arms around her protectively. He cupped her face in his hands, gently tilting it up to look at him and wiping her tears away with his thumbs. His voice was soft as he said, “…The potion wore off last night.”

She blinked, bewildered. “W-what? B-but, today…”

He looked away, an ashamed red flush crawling up his face. “I… enjoyed being so close to you all day, so I… pretended. I’m sorry for lying to you, and I am so unbelievably sorry for hurting you.” He locked eyes with her again, and the warm sincerity in them took her breath away. “I never realized you thought that way, and I… I can’t express how sorry I am that I made you feel like that. I know that I’m not always the most… honest with my feelings. But, Frey—” He pressed his forehead against hers, his warm breath gently fanning across her face. “Believe me when I say, that I love you.”

Her heart stuttered in her chest, her breath hitching. Warmth blossomed in her chest, and the tears that threatened to spill over from her eyes were now from happiness, not pain. But before any of them could fall, he kissed her gently, more of a soft brush of lips than anything, but the tenderness of the action made her tremble, nonetheless. She sighed softly as he pulled away, wishing it would have lasted longer. So before he went very far, she clutched at the back of his neck, ardently whispered, “I love you too,” and yanked him back into her, kissing him hard.

He reacted quickly, wrapping his arms around her and crushing her body to his. The kiss felt like a release, like a giant weight being lifted off her shoulders, leaving her feeling light enough to fly. She loved him so much. And the unfathomable joy she felt at knowing—finally knowing—that he loved her back made her feel like glowing. The kiss was long and loving and passionate and it completely erased all the doubts she had.

When they finally parted, he leaned his forehead against hers again, both of them grinning like fools. He peppered a few more kisses across her nose and cheeks, making her giggle. “I promise,” he said, “that I will do everything I can to make sure you never doubt how I feel about you ever again, you hear?”

She nodded, smile stretched wide across her face.

“Good. I’d hate to see you cry like that again.” He got a fond look in his eyes as he ruffled her hair affectionately, making her let out a little noise of protest. “Jeeze, what am I going to do with you? So high-maintenance.” He sighed airily, his trademark smirk growing on his face. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to never leave your side ever again. Though I think Vishnal and Clorica might start having some questions if I keep sleeping in your bed. Not that I really care.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “In fact, despite my best efforts, I’m afraid that I may have gotten used to it. Trying to force me away now may cause me to go into withdraw.”

“Leo!” She slapped a playful hand against his chest as she giggled. “We can’t keep doing that. I really don’t need those kinds of rumors floating around.”

His smirk widened. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you agreed to let me sleep in your bed with you.”

“You’re impossible.” She shook her head, but she was smiling. She pushed him back down onto the bed, resting her head on his chest like she had before. “Now get to sleep. This is the last time this is happening.”

“No promises.”

There was a long moment of contented silence before, “I love you, Frey.”

And this time, she believed him. She smiled softly. “I love you too, Leon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all had as much fun reading this fic as I had writing it! Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think down in the comments!


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